Free The Lazarus Effect by H. J Golakai Page B

were left to their own devices, they found their friendship its own trajectory. Joshua had introduced her to the dark web, a place she never wanted to revisit, and to the underworld of finance, showed her how extortion and tax evasion worked. She had schooled him in shoplifting and housebreaking. He’d explained the nuances of male anatomy, including the precise international units of small, medium and large penis sizes, and given an impressive live demonstration. She’d ignored his women, until he’d passed her the responsibility of dumping the insipid ones by email when he couldn’t be bothered. At her lowest, he’d given her a place to stay, a bank card with no limit and a shoulder. She hadn’t deserved it, was too up her own ass at the time to appreciate it. Yet, and still. Here they were.
    He smiled, a real one. ‘We done?’ Banter-wise, he meant.
    Vee flexed her neck and put her head back, stress seeping out of her like tiny, invisible insects squirming out of her skin and jumping off her shoulders. She felt better. In less than half an hour, she felt markedly better.
    ‘Are we ever?’ she answered.

7
    ‘So, what’s this something you’re working on?’
    ‘Come on. I can’t talk about my cases. It’s unprofessional.’
    He hooted. ‘You work at what’s barely a newspaper, not at the Pentagon. Spit it out.’
    She threw a used serviette at his head. Then she told him, omitting the part about apparitions and anxiety attacks. That was all hers for now.
    ‘This kid’s been missing for two years and you wanna revive the case. And solve it. What’ve you been smoking?’
    ‘No, the story’s too twisted to walk away from. As dysfunctional goes, this family’s textbook material. The strangest part? Paulsen hates their guts but won’t go as far as outright accusing them – not of murder, at least. She’s pretty torn up, seeing as the better part of this is her fault. As she sees it, between a lot of careless whispers and screwing around she and Ian managed to chakla two families till everlasting. She wants the case closed but not to cause any more pain, which is the dumbest, most passive-aggressive shit I ever heard. Her kid goes AWOL and is most likely dead, and she acts like her biggest decision is whether to flip out on them like an avenging angel or just stay self-righteously pissed in her corner.’
    ‘Maybe there’s your mystery solved. She did it and can’t come right with herself. Ever watched Snapped: Women Who Kill? Half of those crazies are kid killers.’
    ‘Nah.’ Joshua cocked his head and Vee did an adamant flip-flop of her hand. ‘I’m telling you, no. I don’t know that she didn’t kill her own daughter but … yeah. I know. If she’s after anything, I’d say it’s money. You know that fancy health-care facility that’s still under renovation, the Wellness Institute?’
    Joshua flashed all his teeth. Employees at JPMorgan Chase were bred to run like thoroughbreds, his grin said. Illness was a luxury he couldn’t afford, not on his bonuses.
    ‘Well,’ she said, ‘some of us are still human enough to get sick once in a while. We can’t all crash-land from Krypton in perfect health and Gucci shirts.’
    ‘This old thing? Mr Price all the way.’
    She shook her head. ‘That glass and chrome building in Claremont. They’re adding a physio unit, mega swimming pool, gym and spa. The works. It’s got everybody lining up.’
    ‘Since when are you everybody? You’d never see a doctor even if you had an extra pair of eyes. Everything okay?’ He levelled a squint and Vee mumbled something, avoiding his eyes. He shrugged, let it drop. ‘Why in tarnation does a hospital need a pool and spa?’
    ‘It’s an ‘institute’. Apparently, nobody wants to be openly confronted with the fact they’re diseased and mortal, precisely what hospitals are good at. They say they’re promoting aspiritual and holistic combination. New Age evasiveness is all the rage now.’
    ‘My point